Dornblueth handsets

I didn't notice until recently, but I now see there is some variation in the appearance of the way the hands of various 99.1 models attach to their pinions. With identical hand/dial combinations, there are still differences. Does any one know why this is? Different hand sets? Does it have something to do with the Quattro Arret function?

Here's what I mean:

A shot of my 99.1:




See the silver "washers" over the centre of the hands?

Now, here's a shot that andrea_f shared of her 99.1 (hope you don't mind, Andrea):



See what I mean?

Just wondering if anyone could explain to me why there is a difference. I am not complaining about the look of my watch. Appearance-wise, they both look good...I just wonder what the function is of these silver discs. Please let me know if anyone of you knows. Thanks!

...well my 99.1 was finisched in November 2008 and it haven't Quattro Arret function...I'don't really know, maybe we can ask Dirk to solve the trouble...

Klod's picture exlpain better the difference:

I'm certain this has absolutely nothing to do with the QA feature. Curiously, my 99.2 with white hands is fitted with the super luminova coated washer, and my 99.3 with white hands has the silver version. I had not noticed this difference before!

Let's check with Dirk....

I just email to Dirk...hope he will come to the forum soon to solve this doubt..

dornblogger wrote:I'm certain this has absolutely nothing to do with the QA feature. Curiously, my 99.2 with white hands is fitted with the super luminova coated washer, and my 99.3 with white hands has the silver version. I had not noticed this difference before!

Let's check with Dirk....

I've just examined my 99.2 more closely. There is no super luminova coated washer. In fact, there is no washer at all, just the painted white ring from which the minute hand extends.

I just received Dirk's answer trough email:

Hello Andrea,

I just saw, that the question you asked me, is very important, because I
have several requests about this topic these days:-)

I hope my English is well enough to explain. Please let me know, if not.

The reason we have the ss pinion primary was, that the Quattro-Arret
function lays directly below the dial. For this function the usual height of
the hands is to low. To realize both, we have to put the hands a little
higher, so we add the stainless steel pinion.

If you need any additional information regarding this, please let me know.

Best regards,
Dirk Dornblüth

andrea_f wrote:I just received Dirk's answer trough email:

Hello Andrea,

I just saw, that the question you asked me, is very important, because I
have several requests about this topic these days:-)

I hope my English is well enough to explain. Please let me know, if not.

The reason we have the ss pinion primary was, that the Quattro-Arret
function lays directly below the dial. For this function the usual height of
the hands is to low. To realize both, we have to put the hands a little
higher, so we add the stainless steel pinion.

If you need any additional information regarding this, please let me know.

Best regards,
Dirk Dornblüth

So much for my "absolutely nothing to do with QA" comment, and so much for my power of deductive reasoning! I must admit that I am still confused, as my 99.2, which has the QA feature, does not have the pinion.

I suspected it may have something to do with the QA, and the explanation certainly makes sense. Just another example of how Dirk's customer service is spectacular. He takes time from his busy day of making watches to explain the smallest little details to fans of his watches.

As for your conundrum, dornblogger, perhaps Dirk's response was specific to the 99.1 calibre. Maybe the alternate location of the seconds hand and the power reserve indicator allow room for the placing of hands without the need for the additional bushing on a 99.2. It may have to do with the oversized seconds being "indirectly driven below the train by means of an intermediate gear, with friction spring and cantilevered second pinion." The location of these additional drive wheels on the 99.1 may have necessitated the extra bushings on this model vs. the 99.2, when adding the QA. I'm not a watchmaker, so that's a guess!

candle7 wrote:I suspected it may have something to do with the QA, and the explanation certainly makes sense. Just another example of how Dirk's customer service is spectacular. He takes time from his busy day of making watches to explain the smallest little details to fans of his watches.

As for your conundrum, dornblogger, perhaps Dirk's response was specific to the 99.1 calibre. Maybe the alternate location of the seconds hand and the power reserve indicator allow room for the placing of hands without the need for the additional bushing on a 99.2. It may have to do with the oversized seconds being "indirectly driven below the train by means of an intermediate gear, with friction spring and cantilevered second pinion." The location of these additional drive wheels on the 99.1 may have necessitated the extra bushings on this model vs. the 99.2, when adding the QA. I'm not a watchmaker, so that's a guess!

Of course, a rational explanation, very much consistent with your guess:

"After I send the e-mail to you, I was thinking about that topic further and
awaited this question already.

The reason is, that it worked with 99.1 and 99.2 fine, but when 99.3 was
published, the problem appeared. So we decided to have the pinion for all
timepieces with Quattro-Arret. Your 99.2 is one from the time before."

So, if your 99.2, 99.0 or 99.1 predates the introduction of the 99.3 and it is fitted with QA, then it will NOT be fitted with the pinion. This explains it!

The level of customer service out of D.Dornblüth & Sohn is superlative. They care about our sanity as much as they care about our watches.

Great! Mystery solved! Thanks for posting this bit of timeline information.

dornblogger wrote:
The level of customer service out of D.Dornblüth & Sohn is superlative. They care about our sanity as much as they care about our watches.

Agreed! I think we'll all sleep a bit better tonight with this new knowledge!